Hastings, one of five sons of Ridgefield real estate broker, Ray Hastings, lives in Ridgefield with his wife, Diana, and their three children, Alexandra, 14, Katie, 13 and Zachary, 10.

"I think the biggest change I've seen in Ridgefield since I came here in the early 1960s is its population,'' Hastings said. "It's risen from about 10,000 to its present level of about 23,000 which means there's more business here.''